FBW | January 24, 2025

The lower Hudson River shoreline was formerly dominated by maritime industries. Throughout the late 1800s and much of the 1900s, as waterfront industries expanded operations, the shoreline was extended over the river in what is termed the “filled water’s edge.” After most of these industries departed in the latter half of the 20th Century, piers, platforms, cribbing and bulkheads existed in various states of disrepair. The relentless flow of the Hudson River and the saltwater tides eroded vulnerable areas. Storms battered the coastline repeatedly.

A bulkhead, or seawall, is intended to protect the shoreline. This structure is where the water meets the land. A bulkhead could be sheet piling, concrete, stone or wooden cribbing. Where the bulkhead has failed in Hoboken, sinkholes have appeared upland, including at the Shipyard Project (2010) , Sinatra Park (2009), Castle Point Park (2009) and the Hudson Tea Building walkway (2024). 

Last June, another sinkhole opened up on Sinatra Drive near Sybil’s Cave. The City hired Colliers Engineering & Design to investigate. A chain-link fence and plastic Jersey barriers cordoned off much of Castle Point Park and the south end of Sinatra Park. The marine engineers used scuba divers, ground-penetrating radar and geotechnical borings to assess the extent to which the bulkhead had eroded, allowing subsurface material to be washed away. 

Colliers Engineering determined that $30 million would need to be invested to repair compromised portions of the bulkhead. The Hoboken City Council approved this bond ordinance on first reading on January 22 and should give final approval in early February. This major infrastructure work is expected to begin this spring and will need to be completed before work can begin for the long-delayed Sinatra Drive Project that will upgrade this waterfront roadway between Fourth and Eleventh Streets adding a protected bicycle pathway and continuous rows of canopy trees.

Related Links
Coastal erosion is not confined to New Jersey’s beaches; Hoboken’s shoreline is vulnerable too